Media & press
“AI will always love you”
February 18, 2026
On 26 February 2026, the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW) hosts the public event “AI will always love you” at the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam.
Prof. dr. Elly Konijn and dr. Tessa Beinema will be speaking at this event. The evening examines how we build relationships with machines such as robots and chatbots, and whether these interactions influence our human connections.
Interested? More information and a registration link can be found here: https://www.knaw.nl/bijeenkomsten/ai-will-always-love-you
Update March 5, 2026
A recording of the event can now be viewed on the KNAW’s YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJbnhVvi9Hk (The event is in Dutch, but you can turn on YouTube’s automatic translation.)
Can an AI-friend help combat loneliness?
September 25, 2025
In light of ‘The Week against Loneliness’, Villa VdB interviewed prof. dr. Elly Konijn on the NPO Radio 1 about how friendship with a chatbot can make people feel less lonely.
Een robot herkent nooit álle emoties
September 15, 2025
Marieke van Otterdijk was featured in this article on NEMO Kennislink (in Dutch), where she discussed the possibilities and limitations of emotion recognition in robots. She explained how robots try to interpret human emotions, why this remains a complex challenge, and how context and nuance play a crucial role in making these interactions truly meaningful.
Healthcare, education, and AI: Professor Elly Konijn on social robots.
February 16, 2025
Social robots are becoming increasingly advanced, making their way into healthcare, education, and even personal relationships. But what does this mean for us as humans? And with the rise of AI, another question emerges: how far are we willing to go in assigning social roles to machines? Professor of media psychology Elly Konijn has been researching human-robot interaction for years and recently received a major European grant for her work.
ERC ADVANCED GRANT FOR PROFESSOR OF MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY ELLY KONIJN
June 28, 2024
Elly Konijn, professor of Media Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, receives an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her research on the use of social robots.